Vaders Ghost
by aquamanisnotuseless
Summary: When Obi-Wan dies, Vader finds himself haunted by the ghost that was once his master. No really, he is and he won't stop teasing him. An AU fix-it from Obi-Wan's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

_'I've got a bad feeling about this' _Obi-Wan thought glumly. He wasn't exactly surprised that he'd die by his old friends' hand, but then again, that's why he was so glum in the first place. _'Concentrate!'_ He thought to himself. '_I need to do this quickly if this is going to work.'_

He didn't know why Yoda was so adamant that he learn the secret of immortality, but he had had to admit, he was happy that learning meant he could spend more time with Qui-Gon. He couldn't see anything, but that was to be expected. _'Now's the time I need to act.' _He thought. _'I just need to concentrate on what the world still needs me to do.' _

He tried to think of Luke. How he had no training but desperately needed guidance. How he had just lost his family and needed something stable, but his thoughts kept straying to Anakin. _"Then you are lost!"_ he had said to him, and it was true. Anakin was truly, desperately lost.

He knew that Vader had strengthened his mental shields to the point that even if Obi-Wan tried he wouldn't be able to tap into the bond that had formed between them when Anakin had been assigned as his padawan; and he his master. He could understand why, Obi-Wan himself had built up powerful walls. He didn't want to know what was swirling through that crumbled, deformed head of his. He wouldn't be able to bear it if he did.

_'No! I need to think of Luke! I'm supposed to help Luke!'_ He thought desperately. Though he couldn't see anything, he could certainly feel something swirling around him. It was getting faster. _'Not good, very not good. Focus, focus!'_ Suddenly he felt a strong jolt around his mid-chest area. He felt dizzy, and sick. He felt worse then the first time he had made the mistake of letting Anakin fly. Altogether, general unpleasantness followed... Whatever he had been trying to do. What was that again? Obi-Wan couldn't remember.

Suddenly he could hear dull sounds of blasters and screams, something that he wasn't too happy that he could recognize so quickly, however dulled and muted they may be. His sight came back next. It was still blurry, yes. But at least it was something. He shook himself, and tried to remember where he was. He looked around and squinted, trying to see though the dull fog that had impaled all of his senses.

A ship, (_'The Millennium Falcon'_ his mind supplied.) seemed like it was trying to take off, but a passenger looked like he had to be dragged. He could feel his grief even in his weakened state. Someone had died._ 'I died.'_ Obi-Wan thought.

Suddenly he felt as if a flood of information came hurtling at him. _'Luke, I have to help Luke. I have to follow Luke.'_ He tried, oh how he had tried, to follow him. Something was pulling him back, almost like a magnetic pull. _'I don't understand! I did just as Qui-Gon had instructed!' _He thought, before gathering himself. He was a Jedi, a master, and he had held a high place on the council. He wouldn't stand for his composure to fall to that of an untrained padawan. He took a deep breath, even as he could feel himself being dragged away. He tried again.

_'Something went wrong. I just need to figure out what.'_ He was still being dragged by some invisible force, even as he saw the Falcon take off. Even as he saw it fly away. Even as he saw it disappear. _'If only I knew what I did...' _His eyes widened as he realized. Oh no. Oh _force_ no. He turned his head and saw what he dreaded, what had killed him, and what was pulling him further from Luke. _'Vader.'_ He cursed. He had spent more time thinking of Anakin then he had of Luke. His soul was bound to him.

He was starting to panic again. He could't do this. He couldn't spend the rest of his half-life around someone who had _murdered_ so many. Who had murdered _younglings_. He couldn't spend it around the one who had pushed him to exile, who had destroyed everyone he held dear, who had _broken his heart_. He could still feel his feet being dragged on the floor. He looked down. _'Huh, blue. My feet are blue.' _He thought monotonously. Indeed they where... as where is hands, and his robes, and everything else that had been attached to him when he died. _'Speaking of which...'_

Ah. There it is. He summoned the tiny blue glow that was surrounded by brown outer robes, and caught it easily. _'At least I can still use the force.'_ He thought with relief, attaching his lightsaber to his belt.

His feet where still being dragged. It was getting annoying. With a sigh he picked up his feet and followed to where the force was pushing him. As he followed, he let himself get lost in thought; trying to think back on all the things that Qui-Gon had taught him about this situation that he had thrown himself in. "Qui-Gon?" He suddenly called out._ 'This is disturbing.'_ He thought with a furrowed brow._ 'I can't sense him at all anymore.'_

With a pang in his heart he realized why. Obi-Wan is dead, so Qui-Gon's purpose was complete- he no longer needed to be here._ 'But I do need him here.' _He thought morosely. _'Calm yourself! You are a sixty year old Jedi master and you've fought as a general in the clone wars!' _He scolded himself, squaring his shoulders. It was at this moment that he realized that the menacing black cape that he had been following had come to a stop in front of a large egg-like pod. He quickly followed Vader inside.

Vader leaned heavily onto a counter of sorts before he sat down on it. He pressed a few buttons on the computer next to him and the pod began to close. The sound of air being forced out of a vent began as well. After a few seconds of this Vader took off his outer clothing and helmet and stuffed it into a compartment that seemed to be made for this purpose. He clipped a few wires into the computer embedded in his chest as well.

He looked awful. There was no denying it. No longer was he this powerful figure, but the heavily scarred remains if a broken man. His breathing was still heavy, but it no longer had the sound of the helmets filter to accompany it. He wondered if it hurt.

Vader looked up sharply. "Who's there?" He called. Obi-Wan nearly choked when he realized his voice sounded different without the helmet on as well, how it sounded when they where friends. He was shaken again when he realized that _he had said that aloud_. And that Vader had _heard_ him.

"Force, I'm an idiot." He cursed. Vader shot up completely this time, unhooking his lightsaber from his side and igniting it in the process. He looked around suspiously, his face warping even more as it took on the expression of rage.

_'He can't see me.'_ Obi-Wan thought. _'Oh yes. I forgot. I have to do that myself.'_ He concentrated and a second later he could feel a slight shift as he materialized. Vader's face morphed into shock before he sliced Obi-Wan right through the middle. There was a standstill. Both looked at each other in shock. Obi-Wan was first to break the silence.

"Well," He huffed and crossed his arms. "That was rather rude."


	2. Chapter 2

_"Well," Obi-Wan huffed and crossed his arms. "That was rather rude." _

Vader swung at him again. Obi-wan dodged despite himself. "Wha- Ana—" Here he cut himself off before he could say the name. "This is hardly necessary!" He chose to say instead, dancing away from the still swinging blade out of sheer habit alone.

_"What are you doing here?" _Vader roared. Or he would have, but he didn't have quite enough breath to do that anymore, so that last bit came out as more of a pitiful rasp. He also, finally, stopped swinging that wretched red blade of his, and almost seemed to slump over a bit. He immediately straightened though, composing himself for his own sake alone. Obi-Wan just raised his eyebrows at this display. He didn't know what to make of it.

"I _killed_ you," Vader stated.

"That you did," He replied.

"I'll repeat myself then. What are you_ doing_ here." Vader asked again.

Ah, how to answer. Eventually, Obi-Wan replied. "Honestly, I'm not supposed to be here. I can't leave. You're stuck with me _old_ padawan." Why was he baiting him? This mad man is a murderer.

"With all due respect, _master_," He spat out. Ooo, he really hit a nerve there, didn't he? "Dead people aren't supposed to be _anywhere_. Not on this plane of existence anyway."

"Actually, I meant to be on this plane… just connected to someone else. Someone a whole lot _nicer_ than _you _I might add." Obi-Wan jutted out his chin and clasped his hands behind him. Rather childish behavior, yes. Yet_ here he was_. What was it about Anakin that brought out this side of him so much? _'Vader, this is Vader. Anakin died nearly twenty years ago.'_ With that grim reminder he sobered.

Vader turned with a short sigh, seeming content to just ignore him. Obi-Wan was wrong though, as only a few seconds later he mumbled out a word. "What was that?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Yes, okay?" He hissed out. "Now leave me alone." Vader's back was still towards him. Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. Yes to what? _'Ah,'_ He thought as he remembered his first question.

"It hurts to breath?" He whispered.

"Yes. Thank you for that by the way. Now make yourself sparse, _Kenobi._" Vader said as he turned to face Obi-Wan once again, a sneer on his face. There was silence again. Obi-Wan realized then that the mental walls around his former friend had weakened slightly. Not a lot, but enough for Obi-Wan to clear his throat awkwardly and look at a smudge on his shoe, pretending that he didn't just feel a slight rush of hurt, anger, and pain. If he couldn't see the yellow eyes and the scarring, he almost could fool himself into believing that his friend wasn't dead after all. Anakin's mind was just so _him _it was hard to believe he was truly gone. He shook himself off of that train of thought.

"Very well. It'll be like I was never here." Obi-Wan finally said before he made himself disappear. Vader said a bit more of an explicit version of 'finally' before continued to ready himself for bed. It involved a lot more wires on Vader's part and a lot more wincing on Obi-Wan's. _'Well, now to think of what to do about this situation,'_ He thought.

He couldn't exactly help Luke much now. He could probably make some contact short range, but it would certainly take a lot more effort. Especially if you add on the fact that Luke has little to no training in the ways of the force. Obi-Wan grimaced as he realized that the only way that he'd be in close enough range of Luke would be if he was with_ Darth Vader_. By the time Luke would be over his shock he would also be impaled with a lightsaber or shot with a blaster. Neither were good outcomes.

_'Maybe I could help some other way.'_ Obi-Wan thought. _'After all, I am with one of the most powerful dark lords alive. I could sabotage things from the inside.'_ But no, that won't do, would it? He's only one man, and it's not like he could press any buttons to crash a ship or something. _'Well, technically I could. It would take too much time to get the energy to do so though. By the time I actually succeeded, it would be too late. There must be _something_ I could do.'_ Obi-Wan glanced back up at Vader.

Ah, that _could_ work. While it would be altogether unpleasant, he might actually be able to make this situation work for him. If he could break Vader, he would cripple the Empire. Crippling the Empire helped the Rebels. Helping the Rebels would win the war. Winning the war had been the end goal this whole time, so who cares if he has to tweak the plan a little? Though Anakin was more well known for it, Obi-Wan was good at improvising too. _'Now how to break Vader….'_

Obi-Wan made another face. Anakin had been his friend. It would certainly be difficult to have to go through with a plan that included _breaking_ his _friend_, however long ago it had been. _'What if I'm thinking about this the wrong way?' _He thought. _'What if there was the possibility of Vader turning _back_. Turning back into _Anakin_.'_

Obi-Wan was bombarded with emotions that he had refused to acknowledge for years. Turning back from the dark side was something that no one had ever done before. It would be impossible, wouldn't it? Obi-Wan had to sit down. He clenched his hair in frustration. He forced himself to calm down before he continued. _'But if this could work, then not only would the war be over, but I would get my friend back as well. I could get my _brother_ back.' _

Obi-Wan stayed seated on that spot on the floor for a long while. He looked back up at the sorry excuse for a man as he rested. He looked at his scars. He looked at his missing limbs. He looked at the awful machine in his chest. Then he looked at his face. The bone structure was the same. Through the burn scars, you could still see the slash of where a lightsaber had nearly taken his eye. You could still see that this man had once been Anakin. This man had once been someone who would try to use the force to fool you into letting him have extra sweets. This man had once been someone who would make fun of his master's height. This man had once been someone with whom he had trusted with his life.

"Yes, I will get you back." Obi-Wan whispered aloud. "I will try to save you until your dying breath… until _our_ dying breath."


	3. Chapter 3

_"Yes, I will get you back," Obi-Wan whispered aloud. "I will try to save you until your dying breath… until our dying breath."_

Vader woke up some time later. Obi-Wan watched, invisible, as Vader looked around the room. He seemed satisfied with what he saw (or what he _didn't_ see, assuming he was checking if Obi-Wan was still there) and went about his business getting suited up with his life support. Right before he finished Obi-Wan unmasked his presence to him once again. Vader flinched a bit in surprise, though he was far more composed then when Obi-Wan had first shown himself. Vader finished getting ready to leave his life support pod by putting on the last piece of his helmet. Obi-Wan furrowed his brows.

"So you're just going to ignore me then?" He inquired. Vader stiffened.

"That's the plan." He replied after a pause, checking something on a computer and shutting it down before opening the pod before going on his way.

"Oh please, you've never been one for planning. We both know that." Obi-Wan said to him as he quickly sat up from his spot on the floor and followed Vader before he could get dragged. Vader didn't respond to this. He seemed content to actually go through with his plan. Obi-Wan huffed at this reaction. He might have to relearn how his padawan works. Vader seemed much more content with saying as little as possible than he ever remembered Anakin to be.

Obi-Wan decided that he disliked being ignored, especially because he hadn't been around many people for the last twenty years. Having someone finally in front of you who refuses to acknowledge your existence tends to make people a bit more annoyed with you.

"Fine, I can do all the talking for you. Goodness knows you used to do enough talking for both of us as a padawan." Obi-Wan stated. There was truth in the words. Obi-Wan hadn't been the best master to Anakin, and one of his mistakes was that the never talked. Sure, Obi-Wan would lecture him, but that wasn't what Anakin usually needed. Near the end of his training, Obi-Wan had finally begun to understand that. His pride kept him from saying anything about it though. He wasn't going to let something as vile as his own pride keep away his friend this time.

"Y'know, I never apologized," said Obi-Wan. Vader glanced in his direction for a second but continued walking to his destination. _'A small reaction, but a reaction nonetheless.'_ He mused. He then continued on. "I never apologized for a lot of things, I'm afraid. I never really knew how to go about it, so I guess I apologize for that too." He glanced back at Vader, looking for a reaction. He showed none physically, but Obi-Wan could feel confusion coming off of him in spirals. He was going to continue, but Vader had made it to his destination, a control room. A man with a vile looking soul was staring at a large view screen.

"Are they away?" The man asked. Obi-Wan instantly knew who they were talking about.

"They have just made the jump into hyperspace," Vader confirmed. How did Vader know that?

"You're sure the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship? I'm taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work."

_'Homing beacon?'_ Obi-Wan cursed silently._ 'Luke and Leia are leading them right to the base!'_

"We're not going to be able to reach the base for another thirty minutes, but this is a good day for the Empire. It'll be long remembered." The man continued.

"Indeed," Vader replied tonelessly. This troubled Obi-Wan. He wished he could do something to stop this, it looked like this war would be over sooner than he thought. "I will start preparations for assembling the TIE Fighters." Vader continued as he turned away.

Obi-Wan wasn't able to do much during this time, as the only person who could see him was currently occupied, and doing a _very_ good job at ignoring his presence completely. The minutes seemed to drag on. Obi-Wan couldn't help but fret over Luke and Leia. While he didn't know Leia personally, the time he spent with Luke made his heart ache even more for the twins. Suddenly the world around him jolted. The battle had begun, and it looked like the Rebels had known that they were coming and decided to use that to their advantage to make the first move.

Obi-Wan watched at Vader took charge of the troops and couldn't help but be in awe of it. He knew that his friend had been a good general during the clone wars, but it still shocked him to see parts of Anakin in this man. _'At least this is something that stayed the same. He can still lead well,' _Obi-Wan mused. _'Actually that's not the best thing right now,'_ Obi-Wan realized, as Darth Vader was literally commanding the troopers to kill the people fighting for peace.

"Sir, we're losing badly, and our reinforcements haven't been much help." A woman dressed in gear that flaunted her rank said. "What should we do?"

"I will go out there myself," Vader replied. He hailed a few troopers and strode to a nearby TIE Fighter.

"Wait, you're flying?" Obi-Wan protested. He looked inside, but there was only room for one. Vader got inside and made quick work of closing the hatch. Was… was that a wave? Did he just _wave_ _goodbye_ to him? Vader intended to leave him here! _'Not on my watch,'_ Obi-Wan thought. _'I won't be dragged about in space like a rag doll.'_ He made quick work of becoming entirely one with the force and projected his thoughts to Vader. "There's no way you're getting rid of me that easy!"

"It was worth a shot," Vader growled before taking off, along with two troopers. _'Well, at least he's talking to me again.'_ Obi-Wan thought grumpily.

They quickly make it to the main point of the battle right by the hull of the Death Star. It wasn't long before Vader's flying made Obi-Wan sick, as it usually does. Suddenly Obi-Wan felt sick in a different way. He could sense fear, but it wasn't coming from Vader. Obi-Wan hadn't been able to get much of a reading from anyone but Vader since he died. Except… _'Except from Luke…'_ He thought with dread. Now that he thought about it there was no mistaking it, Luke's force signature was almost as strong as his father's. _'Luke is on the battlefield.' _

How in the galaxy was he to stop them from _killing each other_? If Obi-Wan had hands right now he's be putting his head in them. Obi-Wan glanced at Vader as he mercilessly killed a Rebel in an X-Wing. He took a breath.

"Vader, if you've ever trusted me at all,_ ever_, with _anything_; you're going to want to at most cripple the Rebel ships, and not kill any of the pilots."

"And why would I want to do that?" Vader scoffed as he shot down another X-Wing. Obi-Wan winced, but was relieved when he didn't feel Luke's signature go out.

"I promise you, if a specific pilot dies today, it will only bring you pain." Obi-Wan pressed as he watched Vader shoot down another pilot. Vader glanced in the direction Obi-Wan's voice was coming from and hesitated enough for one of pilots to slip away. That would have to do for now.

Obi-Wan focused on Luke. If he could feel him specifically, there may be a chance he could contact him. After all, Luke was the person he had originally tried to bond with. He concentrated and projected his thoughts as loud as he could.

"Luke! Can you hear me?" He felt the force around him shift a bit, and the fear was overshadowed by confusion for a moment. Good. "This is Ben, you'll have to trust you're instincts! Use the force, Luke." There was an explosion nearby and Vader did a particularly risky move to get out of it, rocking the TIE Fighter in the process. Obi-Wan continued with difficulty. "I don't know if I'll be able to contact you again, and if you get out of this alive, find Jedi Master Yoda. He's currently located on Dagobah, he'll take some convincing, but he _can _train you. Trust in the force Luke!"

Obi-Wan doubted that Luke had gotten all of that, but the point had probably gotten across. Luke would probably just be thinking 'Gosh, using the force might work!' or 'The swamps of Dagobah sure sounds like a good vacation spot!'

When Obi-Wan came back to himself he discovered that there were a lot less ships in the sky, much to his dismay. It looked like Vader hadn't tried to hold back, no matter how hesitant he had seemed. He watched just in time as a particular X-Wing that was shining with the light side of the force had succeeded in hitting a weak spot of the Death Star, causing it to burst from the inside. Vader screamed in rage at this and sped towards the X-Wing and started locking on to it's position.

"No!" Obi-Wan cried. This distraction added on to a crazy dash to the left on the X-Wing's part caused Vader to miss. Vader barely faltered.

"Stay out of this, Kenobi!" He roared, starting to lock on the X-Wing once again.

"No, wait!" This time he could tell that the ship wouldn't be able to dodge in time. "Stop, wait!" He shouted again. The TIE Fighter had locked on the the ships position.

It was at this moment that Obi-Wan ether said the smartest thing of his life, or the dumbest.

"No, Stop! That's your son! Stop!"


	4. Chapter 4

Vader tried to pull up and to the side but it was too late, the shot hit the edge of the wing, causing the ship to spiral towards the nearest gravitational pull.

"NO!" Vader and I both shouted. Vader kicked the TIE Fighter into high gear and raced after the falling X-Wing.

_'Well, it's good to know he cares more for saving his son than killing him.'_ He thought.

"Padmé?" Vader asked, his voice was panicked. "Is she..?"

"No," Obi-Wan shook his head. "Padmé is dead. Her son— _your_ son— is currently falling to the fourth moon of Yavin, _where the Rebel Base is located."_ Obi-Wan stressed the last part of his sentence. Vader pressed on towards the falling X-Wing. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "I doubt that the Rebels will take all too kindly to_ Darth Vader_, a murdering _Sith Lord_, approaching their base in an _Imperial vessel_." Obi-Wan could feel the worry and determination coming off of the man in powerful waves.

"I can take anything they throw at me," He said arrogantly.

Obi-Wan frowned and tried again. "If Luke is half as good at flying as you were, which you could clearly see from how he fought today, then his crash landing will be rocky at most. He'll have a communication device, and he is on the same planet as the Base. I'm sure he'll be found in less than four hours time," He reasoned.

Vader slowed. The X-Wing clearly had more control now and had leveled out slightly, but it was still descending towards the fourth moon.

"His name is Luke?" Vader asked. Obi-Wan looked at him in surprise, he had forgotten that Vader wouldn't know the names of his own children.

"Yes," He replied. "Padmé named him right before she died." By now the TIE Fighter had slowed to a stop, and it's passengers were watching the carefully controlled crash of the X-Wing.

"But… Padmé died on Mustafar… How is he alive?" Vader questioned, his voice wavered slightly.

"Padmé didn't die on Mustafar, she died in the hospital. Surely you felt she was alive when you left her? Who told you this?"

Vader stayed silent. Obi-Wan scoffed at this and asked, "Now why do you get to ask all the questions, but when I ask you just start pouting?"

Vader kept pouting.

"Unbelievable," Obi-Wan shook his head. "You're fifty years old and you still act like a child."

There were a few moments of silence, then Vader spoke. "I want him."

Obi-Wan looked at him. "You _want_ him?" He repeated. Vader nodded.

"He's my son. He's mine. I want my son." He tried to convince him.

"Well old friend, I hate to break it to you, but he's his own person first. You don't just _get_ people that you want."

Vader growled. "But he's _my_ son. He's _mine_."

"I won't have you treating him like a slave, _Anakin._" Obi-Wan retorted, purposefully reminding him of things Obi-Wan doubted he wanted to remember. Vader flinched at that response.

"I'm _not_ Anakin," He spat out.

"Well, that is the son of Anakin Skywalker, so he's not yours after all. My mistake, forgive me," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. Vader started to sulk again. The X-Wing had disappeared by now, lost in the deep foliage of the fourth moon of Yavin. Obi-Wan didn't know how long they sat there suspended in space for. He didn't know what actions Anakin was going to take in order to get his son. Vader started up the TIE Fighter.

"Where are we going?"

"To my Star Destroyer."

"You have a Star Destroyer?"

"I have a whole fleet of them" Vader bragged.

When the fleet finally came into view, Obi-Wan couldn't help but poke fun. "You call three ships a fleet?" He joked.

"They're big ships." Vader defended. Obi-Wan just chuckled as Vader glowered. "I will not have you laugh at me." Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows at this.

"And just what will you do about it?"

Vader gave his favorite response by staying silent. Obi-Wan wondered when their roles had switched and he himself did more of the talking. He figured it was right before Anakin had turned to the dark side. He felt a pang in his heart as he realized that that was probably one of the many signs that something was wrong. He was saddened as he remembered that he had known that something was wrong, he just didn't know what or the severity of it. Obi-Wan once again had to shake himself out of that train of thought. It would do Anakin no good if he just dwelled on the things he could have done better. _'And there were _so many_ things I could have done better…'_ He thought.

Obi-Wan suddenly realized that they were stopping. He was relieved, as being so ghostly made him feel a bit uncomfortable. It reminded him that he was dead, and just because that was true didn't mean that he liked to think about it. Obi-Wan waited until after the hatch opened to zoom out and re-materialize completely.

He was pleased to note that Vader no longer flinched at him when he materialized but was considerably less so when just then an unsuspecting worker bumped into him, causing him to lose his balance for a moment. The worker was completely unfazed, as she couldn't see nor feel him. Vader, however, let out a chuckle. That scared her, and she started walking faster. Obi-Wan couldn't blame her.

It was a scary sound, Vader's chuckle. It was deep and breathy and completely unnatural sounding. Vader himself seemed to get a bit angry at the sound of it and had stopped almost immediately.

Obi-Wan's mood wilted considerably as he realized that might have been the first time Anakin had heard himself laugh in twenty years. _'I'm being dragged again.' _He thought and forced himself to follow after Vader.

After he followed for a considerable amount of time, Vader finally slowed around another one of those Meditation Chambers. He didn't go inside this time, instead he walked around it towards a moderately sized room.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan finally asked.

"Reporting," Vader replied as he knelt onto the round space near the center of the room.

Obi-Wan's heart nearly stopped when the Emperor's face appeared.


	5. Chapter 5

"I felt a great disturbance in the force, what has happened?" Darth Sidious asked.

"The Death Star is destroyed, along with anyone on it," Vader stated. Sidious growled.

"I cannot have this kind of incompetence!" He snapped, his already warped face morphed into something even more hideous. "Next time you report to me tell me of the suffering of the Rebel scum!"

"Yes, master," Vader replied, seemingly calm. Obi-Wan wasn't so sure.

"If you disappoint me again I might have to find a replacement. Tell me this will not happen." He threatened, his voice dripping with malice.

"Yes, master," Vader said again, this time managing to bow even lower. Sidious sniffed in disdain. There was a pause.

"I heard news that the old bat Kenobi was finally terminated," The Sith stated conversationally. "By your hand as well." Obi-Wan couldn't help snickering at that. He mouthed 'old bat' to himself in bewilderment. Vader glanced in his direction with a growl.

"Obi-Wan will be no trouble to the Empire anymore." He tried to say calmly, it didn't quite work.

"Old bat Obi-Wan! Ohh… I like that better then Old bat Kenobi." Obi-Wan mused aloud. "It has more of a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He was delighted by the wave of annoyance coming off of his former padawan.

"Very good. You have not been a complete failure. Report back to me when something comes up." The Emperor finished, shutting off the hologram. Obi-Wan was taken aback of the abruptness of the whole meeting. In the Jedi temple, meetings could have take hours, even days, to complete. The Sith seemed to have no care how something was done, as long as it was completed. They had no concern for details.

Vader stood up and walked into the meditation pod behind him. Obi-Wan couldn't decide if he wanted to let him be or not. Luckily, he didn't have to. When Vader walked inside he turned to Obi-Wan and deadpanned, "You _will_ tell me about my son."

"Ah," Obi-Wan said. "That." Obi-Wan followed Vader inside the black and white pod. Vader closed and prepped the pod to take off his gear. Obi-Wan decided to take a chance. "I do have one condition."

Vader stopped. "What is the condition?" He questioned.

"An answer for an answer. Every question that you ask equals one question for me to ask."

Vader took a moment to reply. Finally he answered with, "Very well. Sit down, I will join you shortly."

Obi-Wan nodded and sat down. He was surprised at how well that went. _'Best not to get too optimistic just yet, I haven't quite gotten to the hard part.'_ He reflected. Vader seemed to be torn between hurrying and taking as much time as possible. Finally, he sat across from Obi-Wan. He was no longer wearing his helmet, and his emotions showed clearly on his face.

"Does… does he know that I'm his father?" Anakin asked desperately.

Obi-Wan thought about how to respond to this. "He knows that the great Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was his father, but he has no reason to believe that the two of you are one of the same. No, then, would be the simple answer."

Vader looked both relieved and distressed at this. He nodded and opened his mouth to say something else.

"Remember our agreement," Obi-Wan cut him off. Vader closed his mouth and waited. Obi-Wan decided to start small. "Who told you that Padmé died on Mustafar?"

"Lord Sidious." He replied quickly, determined to get to his answering done with as fast as possible. "Who raised Luke? Did they treat him well? Where—"

"Anakin!" Vader shut up. Obi-Wan sighed. "He was raised by your half-brother and his wife, the Lars family. They treated him fine, I made sure of that."

Obi-Wan was surprised at how many of the questions that Vader had asked had no effect on the war. Anakin really seemed to care about his son. He decided to dive in head first now and ask a harder question, a question that had been plaguing him for twenty years. "What made you turn to the dark side?"

Vader growled and looked down, his mood obviously soured. "The Jedi betrayed me. The world is twisted and—"

"No, that's not it."

Vader looked up in shock. Obi-Wan continued.

"I want the real reason. If I wanted a script I would have asked for it. What made the great Anakin Skywalker fall so hard?"

Vader snarled. "That is the real reason!"

"No, that's not why!"

"Yes! It is! The Jedi _lied_ and they—"

"Anakin, the Jedi didn't betray you! It was _you_ who betrayed the _Jedi_." Vader stayed silent. "What had happened? Why?" Obi-Wan leaned forward. "What started this?"

Vader swallowed. "I had a dream." Obi-Wan waited for Anakin to continue. "I… I knew Padmé was pregnant. I had had this kind of dream before with my mother." Anakin wouldn't look at him. "I was told of a power. It was said that there was a Sith that could stop his loved ones from dying. I _wanted_ that power. I _needed it_." Here Vader looked up at him. "I was weak to the Jedi, but I was strong to the Sith. You know for a fact that the Jedi disapprove of emotions. You know that the Sith_ use_ their emotions for power."

"The Sith use emotions like hate and suffering to get power, how could that be a good thing?"

"The Sith put an _end_ to the clone war!"

"The Sith _started another one!"_

Vader snarled at him again and stood up. He turned away from Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan waited.

"It's my turn to ask a question." Vader decided. He still was facing away from him.

"So it is. Ask away." Obi-Wan folded his hands patiently. Vader had to take a few breaths to continue.

"If… If Padmé didn't die on Mustafar, how did she die?"

"She lost the will to live. It turns out that it's possible to die of nothing more than a broken heart." Obi-Wan saw Anakin lower his head. His back was still to him, but Obi-Wan could see his shoulders shaking.

"I need to meditate," He rasped out.

Obi-Wan complied to his unasked question and disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

Obi-Wan felt lonely. Feeling lonely isn't a pleasant feeling, and this certainly wasn't the first time he'd felt this way. Being alone is something he's gotten used to; it's hard not to living in the desolate deserts of Tatooine. Being lonely is something else. Alone, you can meditate. Alone, you can relax and reflect. Alone is a state of being. Lonely is a feeling.

Obi-Wan knew that he wasn't, in fact, alone. At this moment, he could feel the pulsing of Vader's life force and if he concentrated, he could feel Luke's as well. He was surrounded by more living beings here in this moment on this ship than he ever was in Tatooine. Yet… He felt so lonely. He felt empty. He had no help.

He had to bear this burden alone, and lonely.

It's difficult. Feelings are difficult to control. Even Obi-Wan struggled with them. Not containing his feelings is what made him unfit to be a padawan, and why Qui-Gon had refused to train him in the beginning. Of course, that later changed and worked itself out, but it still happened. Obi-Wan learned how to feel his emotions, but not let others feel it with him. Obi-Wan learned how to feel his emotions _alone_.

This was something Obi-Wan hadn't taught Anakin. Anakin was someone who felt so much. He was empathetic and he hated to see suffering. Anakin later learned to not let his emotions show, but in doing this he refused to feel them. He battered them down until he shattered. His concentration on not feeling the bad made him forget to feel the good. The darkness eventually tainted everything good until there was none left. Nothing but an empty shell of a broken man swimming in his own feelings, unable to ignore them any longer.

That's a lot of emotion to feel. That's a difficult burden to bear. Anakin had to bear that burden alone, and lonely.

Obi-Wan was done with bearing burdens alone. He was willing to bet Anakin was too. He refused to let feeling go unfelt. He refused to let the darkness continue to consume Anakin's soul. He had found a spark to light the darkness, and he would nurture that small spark until it _burned_. He wanted that fire to catch on to every available surface until the darkness was no more, consumed by the blinding light. That spark was Luke. A boy created by love and born into darkness.

It would be a difficult burden for Luke to bear, but he wouldn't be bearing it alone.

By now Anakin seemed to have gotten a better hold on his emotions. It was still chaos, but the swirling of emotions seemed to slow down enough to the point where it wasn't so nauseating. Vader opened his eyes.

"Kenobi," He called.

"I'm afraid I only reply to old bat Obi-Wan now, terribly sorry," Obi-Wan teased, materializing despite his words. "What is it?" Vader's face changed to a mix of a sneer and a smirk as if he wasn't sure which muscle memory go with. He gave up in less than a second though.

"I want to find my son," He continued, determined.

"Your son, or Anakin Skywalker's son?" Obi-Wan questioned, curious.

"My son," said Anakin.

Obi-Wan hummed, thoughtful, but he refused to get his hopes up too high. "And just what will you do with him when you find him?"

"I don't know. I… I will attempt to explain myself if things need explaining."

"_If _things need explaining? The boy blew up the Empire's Death Star. I doubt he agrees with it's views."

"He… he seemed strong with the force…" Anakin continued weakly. "If I offer to teach him…"

"Which side would you teach? The dark, or the light?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin stayed silent. Obi-Wan sighed, "As long as your intentions are pure, I will help you."

Anakin's head shot up, "You will?" Suddenly he grew suspicious, "Why?"

Obi-Wan threw his hands up is exasperation, "Because I still care about Anakin Skywalker you dolt! Why else would I break so many rules for him?"

Anakin didn't have a response for this, but that was beginning to be expected.

"Are you going to ask for the help of the Emperor and the troopers to find him?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"They _do_ have more ways for me to find him but… They… If I can't turn him, they would want him dead. I know this now. I'd rather…" Here he sighed, "I'd rather have a larger chance than that for him to live," He responded rather thoughtfully. Obi-Wan nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"Very well, now where do we start?"

Unfortunately, that was the moment Vader was called to a meeting. He winced.

"I will come out shortly," He said through the comm link. He hastily started getting suited up in his life support again. "You said you could help, and you seem to have… otherworldly powers." He whispered quickly, even though Obi-Wan was pretty sure this room was sound proof. "While I'm gone do you think you could…?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm not sure what exactly I can do yet, but I will do my best."

Anakin lips quirked up in the slightest. It was small, but it was something. He put on his helmet, which was the last piece, and started opening the pod. "I'm trusting you old bat Kenobi."

Obi-Wan briskly got up and followed him out, shouting, "But old bat Obi-Wan _sounds_ better!"


	7. Chapter 7

In the Jedi temple, patience was one of the first things you learned as a youngling. Throughout your training as a padawan, and even as a knight, you must continually show complete and total patience.

It's a good thing no Jedi were around to see Obi-Wan at that moment.

Sure, on the outside he's able to be perceived as a patient man, he excelled at it in fact. Considering he is nothing more than force energy at the moment though, it's not surprising that it was showing so much. Luckily Vader would be the only one to be able to feel it.

He had dematerialized and was focusing all of his energy on Luke; his feelings, where he was, who he was with — anything. His impatience makes it obvious on how well that was going. He's tried focusing for hours. In fact, the meeting had ended about two standard hours ago and Vader had left the conference room, leaving Obi-Wan to be dragged as he was far too busy concentrating to care. He would have stopped, but he feels as if he's so close to finding out what he needs to do, that he just can't yet.

He knew Vader could feel his annoyance, and that it was bleeding into the man, so he decided to calm himself and meditate before he moved on. It was illogical to attempt anything else under the influence of these emotions.

After a few minutes of meditation, he tried again. This time he thought of himself first; of where he was, of what he was feeling, and his force-energy. He saw himself appear in his cloudy vision. He floated in a mass of energy. There where thousands of ghostly strings surrounding him. Some were tethered to something unseen, blocked off by the murky blackness of the force. Some were cut, or torn, or broken, and simply hung from his side, a mere whisper of something that once was. There was one string that was completely solid and shone a brilliant red. It had frayed awfully in multiple placed as if several people had attempted to break it, but it held fast. Obi-Wan locked on to this thread and turned his gaze to where it led.

He was unsurprised to see Anakin at the end of it, with his own threads swirling around him. A good many of them were broken. He had figured these threads were the relationships he had once had when he was alive, so it made sense that the person his soul had latched on to in death and in life had the strongest thread, even if it was a little rough around the edges. He decided to move on, but he kept Anakin well in his sight.

He prodded one of the ghostly threads and shivered as a rush of cold came over him. The salmon skin of a Mon Calamari come into view: Bant. She was long dead. He moved on before he could lose his composure.

He sorted through the tangled mass of thread, taking care to sweep over every one. Each time—whether they were dead or alive— he felt a jolt of cold flood his system. After he had sorted through a good amount, he wasn't sure if he was happy that he couldn't die again of hypothermia. He was shivering by the time he felt it.

The string looked just as innocent as the others. It was the same foggy grey, but when Obi-Wan touched it, he was flooded with _warmth_. Obi-Wan greedily melted into the flood for awhile before he remembered why he was here. He followed the string, it leading him right where he hoped it would: Luke.

Obi-Wan had trouble containing his glee. Luke floated just the same as Obi-Wan and Anakin had, and he himself already had a hefty amount of strings surrounding him too. Unlike Obi-Wan and Anakin, most of Luke's were undamaged and intact. Obi-Wan could see a small string connecting Luke to Anakin, but it seemed clear that the boy was completely unaware of it.

He turned he focus back to the one attached from the boy to himself and willed it to become solid. Nothing drastic changed, but he felt the thread get thicker and saw a small bit of color come into it. By now Obi-Wan was exhausted. There wasn't much he could do at the moment, but it was a start. He could feel a small vague force-presence in the back of his mind now, accompanying his own and Anakin's. It was enough for the time being. He forced himself out of his meditation.

When he rematerialized Vader was walking down a hallway with a young soldier talking with him. Vader startled a bit at his appearance, but luckily the mask and the imposing presence of him caused the small man not to question it. Vader seemed to suddenly want this conversation to end quickly. The soldier obviously had a brain, got the message, and ended it swiftly. Vader comically looked down the hallway to see if they were truly alone before turning to him.

"What did you discover? You were gone for nearly three days!" He voiced lowly.

Obi-Wan was shocked. Three days? He knew he was gone for awhile, but he didn't realize just how long it took. "I…" He shook himself. "I found Luke." He felt a rush of excitement coming from the black-clad man so he quickly corrected himself. "No, not like that! I found his force-presence. I can't quite tell where he is yet, but I can get vague feelings."

Obi-Wan could feel the disappointment haphazardly forced in his direction. "What do you mean by vague feelings?" Anakin questioned cautiously.

"It's…. not unlike the bond formed when a padawan is taken. It's foggy though, I can't," Obi-Wan had to stop and huff in frustration, "I can't get anything from it. It's as if everything we need to know is written on a piece of paper, but I don't know the language yet." Vader growled and flung his cape around in irritation, ever the dramatic, and started pacing. "I think now it's just a matter of me learning the language." Obi-Wan finished.

The masked man turned to face him. "And how will you do that?"

"Master Vader who are you talking to?"

They both turned to see a younger soldier who was obviously fresh from training standing at the end of the hallway. She was holding what looked like a data pad close to her chest and she seemed genuinely concerned, if not a little scared.

"No one!" He said menacingly, whipping his cape around again for more dramatic effect. The poor girl practically yelped and scampered away in the other direction, probably to find a safer way around.

"Well!" Obi-Wan scoffed and crossed his not so solid arms. "You didn't have to _scare_ her so, Ani. She was just concerned."

He turned again to face Obi-Wan and stopped short. Obi-Wan glanced behind him to see a group of storm troopers passing by across the hall.

_"We should finish this conversation somewhere more private." _Vader projected into his mind, and turned with one last swirl of his cape.

"Do you have to be so theatrical?" Obi-Wan sighed.

_"Do you have to constantly hear the sound of your own voice?"_

Obi-Wan pouted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys! It's the author here. I just wanted to thank you guys for all the feedback but I also have a question. I honestly don't know how to write. I'm still pretty young, and the first couple of stories that I wrote when I was 11-13 sucked so much that I stopped in frustration. I would really appreciate some criticism about what you liked and what you didn't like. How could I have done better? Why was this chapter not as good as the others? I DO want to improve and I DO want this story to be at least somewhat enjoyable. Thanks guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Anakin and Obi-Wan sat across from each other in the meditation chamber. They've been in this position for awhile, but that's what happens when you— well, meditate. It's been a long time since the duo had done this together, and neither member wanted to end it anytime soon. Them not wanting it to end, however, was not the same thing of having to end it. Obi-Wan decided to make the first move.

"I've been thinking…" He started.

"That's dangerous," Anakin said with a quirk of his lip, his eyes still closed in meditation. Obi-Wan huffed in exasperation and continued.

"It's been three days that I've been gone, and I was wondering if you've got a plan now of what you're going to do when we actually find Luke."

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know." He said opening his eyes. He seemed at war on whether or not he should say something. Before Anakin had fallen, Obi-Wan had usually told himself that if Anakin wanted to tell him something, he would tell him; so he usually didn't pry. Obi-Wan was definitely going to pry now.

"Anakin, if you want to tell me something, just tell me." He stated reassuringly. Anakin wouldn't meet his eyes, his shoulders were up defensively.

"That's just the thing!" He finally blurted out, his entire body language screaming with tension.

"What is?" Obi-Wan asked reassuringly.

Anakin flailed a bit in frustration before continuing, "Can I still call myself Anakin?" He asked weakly, "Is that still me? I thought Anakin died long ago, and now I feel like Darth Vader is dying now too. If both of them are dead, who am I? What's left? All that I know of my identity if that _Luke is my son_. But what if he doesn't want me? He _wouldn't_ want me. There's barely anything left and I—" He stopped when a ghostly blue hand covered one of his mechanical arms. Anakin seemed to only just then realize what he was doing.

"You're hurting yourself," Obi-Wan said sadly. He was. One of his mechanical hands had begun fidgeting with the wires of the other. As his rant got more heated, the arm got more violent, tearing away at the important equipment.

"I… I can fix it." He croaked, poking at the mess of metal and wires.

"You can. There you go, that's one thing." Obi-Wan said confidently.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, looking up at him, his eyes were wet. Obi-Wan swallowed.

"That is a part of you. You can fix things. You're good with machines. You like to fly. These are things that make you _you_. What you call yourself… it doesn't matter. You don't have to label yourself quite yet. Names are just words. They don't have to have a meaning if you don't want them too."

Anakin nodded at this. Obi-Wan continued.

"How about when I'm working on finding Luke, you work on finding yourself? If you remember just the facts and not the titles, it might make it easier."

The man in front of him stayed silent. Finally, he nodded again. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, "I mean I know you have to be here, but… Why?"

Obi-Wan thought for a moment. "A long time ago I broke the Jedi code; I formed an attachment. I knew it was dangerous, but I was so caught up it the moment that I hardly cared."

"But you care now."

"I don't know," He answered honestly.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Anakin held up his limp limb. "I'll start working on this then." He excused himself stiffly.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Right, I'll work on… Well, you know."

Anakin copied his movement. "Right," He repeated.

Obi-Wan escaped the awkwardness by focusing on Luke. It barely took any time at all this time to locate the string that connected him to the boy.

He snuck a glance at the floating form of Anakin and was pleased to note that the large rope that tethered them together looked a bit less rugged.

Turning his attention back to Luke, he went to work of getting the color back into the cord.

It was difficult work and it drained him considerably, but he held fast. He had no doubt that if the boy had had just a bit more training in the force he would know that Obi-Wan was there, but he did not. Obi-Wan briefly wondered how long he would be gone this time.

He got quite a bit done this time around. The thread was nearly solid now like Anakin's was. He could bet that the only reason this was working so well was because Luke had been the one he had tried to bond with in the first place. He had no doubt if he tried this with any of the other strings it would only end in failure.

By the time he considered himself finished for the day Obi-Wan felt thoroughly exhausted, but the string hummed with the force and it glowed a lovely blue. It would probably not take many more sessions before the bond was complete.

Obi-Wan woke feeling disoriented. The first thing he came to terms with was that there was a steady throb of fear pulsing through the air.

Anakin was scared.

That snapped Obi-Wan back to his senses. He quickly searched around for danger, but there was none. Obi-Wan then realized that they were still in the meditation chamber. What could be bothering him? He finally looked at the man.

_'Oh,'_ He thought. Anakin was asleep. _'He's having a nightmare.'_

Whether it was a vision or not, Obi-Wan didn't know. But it was obviously causing him quite a bit of stress. His eyes were clamped shut tight, and his body kept shifting. He was breathing evenly, but there was no doubt that he wouldn't be if that machine in his chest wasn't regulating it. Even then it still had a red light flashing, yelling that something was wrong. He had to wake up.

Obi-Wan knew he couldn't wake him up through physical means, so he tried using others.

"Anakin!" He called out, "Anakin, wake up!"

That seemed to cause even more distress so, thinking of their last conversation, he focused on the facts.

"Wake up, my padawan. You're only dreaming."

_"Obi-Wan?"_ He felt through his bond._ "Is that you?"_

"Yes, you need to wake up now. It's only a dream, it's not real." He forced his voice into a calming sound.

_"A dream?" _The foggy voice said in confusion.

"A dream, yes. You can get out of it. I believe in you."

Obi-Wan saw Anakin start to stir, and eventually his eyes snapped open with a sharp inhale. He simply breathed for awhile, before falling back into a peaceful sleep.

Obi-Wan doubted Anakin would remember this encounter in the morning. He swiftly slipped into meditation, content to wait it out until morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you guys so much for the advice you guys gave me in the last chapter, I really appreciate all of you! I am pleased to announce that I have a Beta now and they are simply fabulous, and I am incredibly grateful for their help. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Obi-Wan gazed proudly at the glowing blue thread that connected him to Luke. It pulsed with a steady beat as the Force flowed through it. The warmth that flowed off it was glorious in the surroundings of the other icy threads. He was exhausted, but he had done it. Obi-Wan will need talk to Anakin again about how to go about approaching the boy after he slipped out of meditation.

Obi-Wan snuck another glance at the red rope binding him and his old friend. It had healed somewhat, but there was no doubt it had been severely damaged. A low hum of Force could be felt as it pushed itself through it.

A week had passed since the first time Obi-Wan woke Anakin from his nightmare. Obi-Wan was sad to say that they hadn't gone away, it actually seemed like they were getting worse. When Obi-Wan asked, he refused to say anything about them. He didn't pry anymore than that, but he still woke him when he needed it.

As Obi-Wan forced himself back into the outside world, all he could comprehend was chaos.

At first he wondered if Anakin was having a particularly nasty dream, but no. He was walking only a few paces ahead of Obi-Wan. The anger and hurt thrown around in the Force was nauseating.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Obi-Wan demanded.

"He _lied._ The deceiving rat _lied_ to me!" Anakin snarled, his fists clenching in anger. A passerby looked on worriedly before scampering in another direction. He was vehement. Obi-Wan knew he needed to put a lid on his emotions before he caused any accidental damage.

"You need to calm down. Remember people can see us here." Obi-Wan almost said to take a breath, but that wouldn't really work with him. "Now who lied to you?"

_"Darth Sidious,"_ Vader projected into their bond. _"He deliberately lied to me!"_

"What did he say?" Obi-Wan inquired as he hurried to keep up with the brisk pace.

_"He said that the last of the Vader's First perished to Rebel fire in the last squabble, but_ that's not true. _The odds weren't looking good for the Empire so we bombed the whole thing. I read the report before_ he _changed it."_

Obi-Wan didn't know how to respond to this, he hadn't known Anakin still kept track of his old troops.

_"Usually this wouldn't be such a big deal, but now I know he lied about Padmé as well. He lied to me about you too! When else has he lied to me?"_ Vader continued as he walked into the hanger bay. He was twitching and Obi-Wan felt like he was drowning in the outrage he gave off.

"Wait, where are we going?" he asked nervously as he followed Vader to one of the ships.

_"Out," _Vader spat heatedly.

"You're not… you're not going to kill anyone, right?"

Vader growled for a moment before he replied. _"No, I just need to clear my head."_

Obi-Wan sighed in relief. That relief was quickly squashed, however, as he remembered how Anakin's flying gets even worse when he's angry.

Once Anakin had climbed into the ship he had calmed down considerably. It was obvious that flying was still what he liked best. Obi-Wan was pleased to note that he had chosen a cruiser rather than a fighter, as it had more room than the TIE fighter had had.

Anakin breezed through regulations with his ability to strike fear into the hearts of the strongest of men before jumping into hyperspace. The destination was set somewhere in Wild Space. Obi-Wan decided it was time for him to butt in.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked wearily. Anakin pulled up a picture on the screen.

"The planet of Kosh," he explained. "Nobody likes to go over there because it's so far into Wild Space and the magnetic pull messes with hyper-drive. It also messes with communication devices so I'll have an excuse not to report in for awhile. It's my favorite place to fly."

Obi-Wan hummed, "You do this often?"

"Not often enough," Anakin grumbled in reply. There was a comfortable silence as they traveled. As they neared the planet, Anakin prepped the ship to drop out of hyperspace.

Obi-Wan felt a twang from the Force, but he got the warning too late.

If Anakin hadn't so much on his mind, Obi-Wan bet he would have remembered to check the scanners more thoroughly before leaving hyperspace.

If the Rebels weren't so short on men, he bet they wouldn't have sent out a ship that had _broken scanners._

If they weren't so close to Kosh, he bet the magnetic pull wouldn't have messed with the rest of the equipment.

The ships collided and the vessels from both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance plummeted towards the planet of Kosh.

Alarms blared throughout the vessel as Anakin tried to calm them, his hands flying over the controls in a panic. The hull shook and the atmosphere grew hot as engines overheated. A wing had gotten damaged and Anakin struggled to keep the ship balanced. The turmoil was dizzying. When their descent turned somewhat steady, Obi-Wan spoke.

"How's the other ship? Do you see it?"

"It was a _Rebel ship_, Obi-Wan. We've got our own problems going on right now in case you can't tell," Anakin stressed with agitation.

"There's a person in there! We can't just let them _die_."

Anakin let out a yell of frustration as he reached out with the Force to catch the ship. He grunted with the effort, but he wasn't called the Chosen One for nothing.

The planet had gotten closer, and the ships weren't holding up so well.

Everything went black as the two crafts made impact.


	10. Chapter 10

Anakin jumped out of his seat as soon as the ship made the impact, cursing as he stumbled. The unsettled dust swirled, catching what little light made it into the ship. Coughing could be heard from outside as well as the distinct sound of a hatch opening.

_"Hey! Are you alright out there?"_ a voice outside called, coughing again as the dust settled in the man's lungs.

Oh no.

Oh _goodness_ no.

What in the name all things holy was _Luke Skywalker _doing here?

_'How could I not have sensed it?'_ Obi-Wan thought briefly. He waved if off to being in such a drastic situation. Odds were he _had_ sensed it but simply couldn't tell the difference between Anakin's peril and Luke's.

"Great plan, Obi-Wan," Anakin drawled sarcastically. "I suppose we'll chat about our differences over tea?" He then noticed Obi-Wan's panicked look. "What's happening?" he asked, suddenly serious.

Obi-Wan's thoughts flew. _'What am I going to do? How is Anakin going to react? How is Luke going to act? How are they—' _He cut himself off before he could start hyperventilating and tried to calm himself.

"Obi-Wan, what's wrong? What's going on?" Anakin asked again, facing him fully now. His lightsaber was gripped tight in his hand now.

"That's Luke," Obi-Wan managed to whisper.

"I—" Anakin sputtered. _"What?"_

"Luke is outside right now." Obi-Wan's facial expression still hadn't changed from shock.

_"Hello? Is everything okay?" _Luke called out again. The sound of stumbling could be heard, and Anakin froze.

"What are we going to do?" Obi-Wan asked, finally able to compose himself to the point where he could form a coherent thought. Unfortunately, Anakin wasn't in the same boat and didn't respond.

_"Anakin!"_ Obi-Wan stressed, they were running out of time.

"I'll go out alone," he finally responded. Fear was radiating off of him, but he managed to look composed. Obi-Wan nodded and dematerialized.

"I'll trust you," Obi-Wan said to him before Anakin strode out into the outside light.

Besides the smoking hull of a small rebel transport unit that sat behind a small hill and the passenger who had stumbled out of it, Obi-Wan noticed a few things about the planet they had crashed on.

For one thing, they had landed in the middle of a huge yellow field. The tall grass-like plant swayed in the windy atmosphere. Trees could be seen not too far away from where Luke's ship had landed. The sun was bright, but it had already begun its descent below the planet, signaling that the day was almost over.

Luke had been squinting from the bright light the sun gave off even at this hour, but his eyes widened as the menacing figure made himself known.

"Darth Vader," Luke whispered as he paled.

"Yes," Anakin responded. "And you are Luke Skywalker."

Luke took a weary step back and drew his lightsaber. "How do you know my name?" he asked, his voice hard.

Anakin didn't respond for a moment. "I admit that's as far as my knowledge goes. I have been wanting to meet you for awhile now," he finally decided to say.

Luke let out a small bark of laughter. "You wanted to finish the job, huh?"

"No," Anakin said almost harshly, "I wanted to do the opposite."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he took cautious steps back towards his still smoking ship behind him.

"I…" Anakin choked out. His gloves were squeaking at the strain as he clenched his hands.

"Why are you even talking to me?" Luke questioned, still backpedaling towards his ship. "Why am I alive?"

Anakin didn't respond. He seemed to be a loss for words. Obi-Wan decided to butt in. Despite what Anakin had said, he couldn't do this alone.

"Luke," he said as he rematerialized. Luke dropped his lightsaber in surprise.

_"Ben?"_

"Your father is still alive," Obi-Wan stated as calmly as he could. "I was mistaken."

_"What?"_ Luke exclaimed, "How?"

"Because of you."

"Me?" Luke whispered.

"I—" Anakin spoke again suddenly. "I just wanted to meet you."

Luke stumbled back again, he had forgotten Anakin was there. "I don't understand," he said. "What's going on?"

"You are my son, Luke, and I have failed you."

Luke's face went white as the blood left it. His breaths started coming out in gasps and his eyes were as wide as they could go.

"Luke, you need to calm down," Obi-Wan said.

Luke clenched his hair at the base of his skull as he tried to calm his breathing. Finally, he looked up and asked, "What are you going to do with me?"

Obi-Wan glanced towards Anakin before speaking again. "Hopefully get your ship working again. Your father is very skilled as a mechanic."

Luke just stood there with a blank expression on his face. Great, now he'd gone into shock. Obi-Wan sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Listen," Obi-Wan said, "why don't you head back to your ship and think things over. I'm sure you have a lot on your mind."

Luke swallowed and nodded. He hastily grabbed the lightsaber he dropped earlier and started to walk towards his ship.

"Wait!" Anakin stopped him, "You don't trust me, I can feel it."

Luke shot him a look that screamed 'Obviously'.

Anakin didn't let it faze him as he reached for his lightsaber. Both Obi-Wan and Luke took a step back in astonishment.

_"What_ do you think you're_ doing?"_ Obi-Wan whispered frantically.

Anakin stayed unperturbed as he tossed the unlit lightsaber towards Luke. Luke fumbled with it for a bit before catching it and glancing back up to Anakin, but Anakin had already started walking back towards his own ship. Obi-Wan followed almost reluctantly.

Obi-Wan looked back behind him before he ducked into the Imperial ship. Luke was in the same place they left him, his hair blowing in the wind as Kosh's sun set behind him. Both of his fathers lightsabers; one red, one blue, were clutched tight in his hands.


	11. Chapter 11

Obi-Wan jolted out of his meditative trance. Something was wrong. He reached out with the force and found that Luke was awake, but the distress that woke him wasn't coming from him. Obi-Wan glanced towards Anakin.

It was nighttime now and Anakin hadn't wanted to talk immediately after, so he had faked sleep. It was understandable but slightly bothersome. It seemed like in his exhaustion from the day before he had simply drifted.

Anakin was having another nightmare. Obi-Wan was about to wake him when Anakin shot up on his own. Obi-Wan flinched back at the sharp motion.

This had been going on long enough.

"Have they been about the same thing?" Obi-Wan asked, not really expecting an answer but hoping he would get one, "The nightmares, I mean."

Anakin proved him wrong by nodding.

Obi-Wan hesitated before asking his next question, "What have they been about?"

Anakin turned his head towards the wall of the ship they were in. "Luke," was all he said.

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose and his words died on his lips. Well, that certainly wasn't good. Anakin had been known to get bleak visions. It most likely wasn't about sunshine and flowers. He tried again, "Are these the same dreams that—?"

Anakin answered his question before he finished, "Yes, they're visions."

"They're the same kind that you had with your mother, aren't they?"

Anakin nodded and added, "With Padmé too."

"Well…" Obi-Wan cleared his throat, "I'm sure—"

"Do you think you could check on him?" Anakin cut him off.

Obi-Wan quickly waved off his annoyance of being interrupted and answered, "I checked on him a few minutes ago. He's fine. He's awake and just outside."

"He's in his ship you mean."

"No, he's just outside. I believe he's attempting to repair his ship."

"What? Does he have a death wish? This is a mostly unexplored planet!" Anakin quickly stood up and started to stride towards the exit. "Stay here, I'm going to make him go inside."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and waited to see how long it would take before he felt that dreaded tugging forcing him to follow after him. Sure enough, after only a few seconds he started being dragged. Obi-Wan got up with a huff and followed after him, turning invisible to give them the illusion of privacy.

The bright sun had set hours ago and the stars seemed to be dull in comparison. However, the sheer number of them was breathtaking. Two moons could be seen set low in the sky.

Luke was under one of the sides of the ship. Two large pieces of damaged metal were settled to the side of him. It seemed like he had had to pry off the metal hull instead of simply opening a hatch to get to the engines that he was now working on.

Anakin's footsteps faltered as he neared the boy, seemingly just now coming to terms with what he was doing. He came to a halt a good distance away.

"Why are you not inside?" he demanded.

Obi-Wan winced as Luke started and banged his head on the ship in surprise. Luke quickly clambered out from under it and faced the man.

"I need to fix my ship. I figured it was obvious," Luke replied defensively.

Anakin straightened at this, seemingly thinking that two could play at that game. "Tell me," he asked, "What do you know about this planet?"

Luke hesitated.

"What creatures reside here?" Anakin continued.

Luke didn't answer.

"Exactly, you don't know. I suggest you go inside before you get yourself killed."

"I have two lightsabers," Luke pointed out. "I could defend myself."

"You have two lightsabers that you barely know how to hold, much less use," Anakin deadpanned.

_'That is true…'_ Obi-Wan thought a bit regretfully. He had corrected Luke on the way he was gripping the lightsaber before, but it seemed like the boy had simply forgotten.

Luke bristled at this and made a face. "And who's fault is that?"

Anakin started taking a step back before he stopped himself. He stepped forward instead and said, "Go inside. Sleep. You'll work on this in the morning."

Anakin spun around and started marching towards his own ship and Obi-Wan had to dodge to avoid being walked into, but Luke stopped him.

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you teach me?"

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose, he hadn't expected the boy to be so bold. When Luke had said these words, he had been confident. After Anakin had turned and faced him, however, he seemed to realize what he said and paled. He shrugged shakily.

"How would you know I won't teach you the Dark Side?" Anakin inquired curiously.

"I'm pretty sure lightsaber techniques have no dark and light sides," Luke replied.

"How would you know?"

"You're right, I don't know. I'm taking a chance." Obi-Wan was impressed by Luke's daring words, but his voice was weak as he said them. Luke and Obi-Wan waited to see how Anakin would respond.

Anakin hesitated, "I'll teach you in the morning. You should get some rest," was all he said.

Luke nodded hastily and took a few backward steps towards his ship before turning and simply running there, his excitement seemed to bubble out of him.

Obi-Wan rematerialized behind Anakin so when he turned back around he startled and took a step back.

"I thought I told you to stay in the ship!" Anakin growled.

"You did? My mistake," Obi-Wan said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"You are impossible, you know that you old bat?"

"Ah, yes, unfortunately. You, however, should follow your own advice and get some rest. You have a very exciting day tomorrow. Do you think you'll be able to sleep?"

Anakin chuckled, "Like hell I will," he said almost bitterly.

Obi-Wan sobered somewhat at that. "Well, you are welcome to join me in meditation. Shall we be going then?" He gestured towards their own ship.

Anakin nodded and Obi-Wan followed after him inside.

Obi-Wan knew this wasn't going to last forever, but he allowed himself to enjoy this sense of comfortable companionship while he still could.


End file.
